to care for the land

Fire is healing

Fire feeds life overburdened by invaders

Fire flows freely in my blood

in my heart and soul

I descend from a long line of fiercely glowing embers

Embers who refused to be extinguished

ancestors who stand strong in dreams and visions

I spit fire when I speak

My words terrify settler academics

I do not mean to be a fire-breather

But this comes as natural as telling the truth

to an honest Indigenous woman

Aww, yes, the truth shall set you free

Unless you are a settler listening to Indigenous truths

Then it shall Imprison you

Lock your heart and mind in genocidal ancestral landscapes

You will need a healing fire

Lite one tonight and call me in the morning

So please do forgive my truths, my words, my fires

Fire is sacred, a path to healing

Fire cleanses an overburdened landscape

Fire burns dehumanizing discussions

Fire cleans the land

Words clean literary landscapes of un-education

Fire creates a fresh canvas

where new life emerges

So people of all colours can start again

in open fields of healing and peace